Ms Occamy
by EmpressNafara
Summary: She got her letter late, and her family refuses to acknowledge she's a eizard. What happens when she's whisked away to another land far more dangerous and far more magical? She meets the trouble squad, a groups of five students who look for the cursed vaults and endangernthe school. Her head of house seems to be out to get her. She wants to find her real family. SnapeXOFC slow burn
1. Chapter 1

Two Milicent Road in West Bredgeford, apartment number two, sat a nice little family, a mother, a father, and a daughter who was of the age of thirteen.

Tonight seemed to be an ordinary night, the light bustling of streets and half drunk people walking by, perfectly ordinary. At least to those eyes untrained by the wizarding world.

An old man with long white hair that blended into his white beard, dressed in an exquisite blue robe, walked the street by himself.

He got the edge of the street just before he would have to turn, and he waited, for what or even for who was unclear.

A small black cat appeared from the shadows, and the old man's brown eyes, filled with wisdom and age light up at the tiny creature.

So far their meeting had gone as planned and with no interruptions, a first in many years.

The cat before him transformed into an elderly woman with brown hair tied neatly back, and she wore a green dress, and atop her head, quite fashionably perched, was her witches hat.

"Albus." The woman says acknowledging the older man before her.

"Minerva," He acknowledges back with a smile in his eyes. "How were your travels?"

"Not as comfortable or as easy as yours, I'm sure." They resume their walk to the house and walk up the steps.

"Perhaps not." He replies and knocks on the door. They can hear heavy footsteps walking towards the door, and the clicking of locks being unlocked.

"Can I help you?" The man who answered the door asks. He was dressed in dark jeans and a lovely red button-down shirt, his brown hair slicked back, and his brown eyes were tired from whatever job he was working.

"We're looking for Ms Morana Acacia Skotadi," Albus says, his voice seemed strained.

"I'm her father, what do you want with her?" He was short with the two of them, obviously wanting nothing more than to go back inside to his family.

"We want to invite her to Hogwarts, a school for witchcraft and wizardry," Minerva speaks up, hoping to provide comfort to the man. He eyes the two of them debating on whether or not to let them in or shut the door and deal with them another day. He chose the first option.

"Please, come in." He says opening the door wide, allowing them to enter into their little house. "Honey put the kettle on, we've got visitors." He calls as quietly as he can so he doesn't wake his sleeping daughter.

"What kind of psychopaths did you let in at this hour?" His wife calls back as she rounds the corner and stops abruptly to see the two figures standing in the entryway. "I'm terribly sorry; it's been a long day, does earl grey suite your tastes? I'm afraid it's all I've got right now and-"

"Earl grey will do just fine," Minerva says, hoping to calm the young woman down.

"Great, I'll put the kettle on then." She leaves and heads back to the kitchen where she throws the water in the kettle and throws it on the stove.

"Let's take a seat in the living room, and we can discuss further." The husband says, guiding them into the living room where they all take a seat. The wife hurries back over quickly and sits on the arm of the chair her husband sat in, while the other two sat across from them on the couch.

"Allow me to introduce ourselves," Says Albus. "This is Professor Minerva McGonagall, Head of one of our houses, and I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"I've never heard of Hogwarts, where is that?" The wife says, her brown eyes exhausted from the day, just like her husband, and her blonde hair was frizzy and out of control, almost as if she had just been electrocuted.

"A school up in Scotland, and unless you've had close family attend I would doubt you've heard of it."

"You want my daughter to go to school all the way up in Scotland, are you crazy?" The wife becomes almost ecstatic, and she runs her hands through her hair, trying to smooth it back.

"Mrs Skotadi, if I may ask a question..." Dumbledore trails off, waiting for a response from the wife.

"I suppose I don't see no harm."

"I feel the reason that you are both so exhausted from this day is that your daughter has been doing things, things the majority of people are unable to do. Am I correct, in this assumption?" The husband and wife look at each other, and a wave of relief washes over them. They, were, in fact, not going insane.

"Yes," The husband says, finally speaking up and turning his attention back towards the visitors. "Just today she levitated something at a museum on a school field trip."

"And the week before she was hissing at snakes." Says the mother. Minerva and Albus share a glance.

"If you would allow your daughter to attend our school with like-minded students, we could help her," Minerva says, just before the kettles goes off, and the wife hurries back into the kitchen. She pours two cups of tea and brings them out to the living room for the two.

"You say you could help her, properly help her?" The mother asks.

"It is our specialty to help the gifted." Dumbledore remarks and then takes a sip of the tea.

"I don't know if it's a good idea, she's adopted and I don't want her thinking that we're giving her up because we can't handle her." Mrs Skotadi breathes. Dumbledore looks up to the stairs and sees the child sitting on the staircase trying to hide; she had pure white hair which framed her angelic face and made her emerald eyes sparkle.

"Would you mind I went up and said hello?" Dumbledore asks.

"She's asleep, otherwise-"

"I can assure you she's not in bed; I will be quick." The parents nod, and he gets up and watches as the child races up the stairs and into her room, hoping that no one had noticed her.

But of course, Dumbledore had, he notices everything; otherwise, he would not be an excellent headmaster. Nevertheless, he was exceptional at his job, except apparently this child that had somehow evaded all documentation in the magical world. The only reason they knew about her now was because of things that were happening, and a wizard had been there to witness one of her incidents.

Then, a week later, her name was written in the Book of Admittance and Dumbledore was to plan a personal visit to this child.

He knocks gently on the door before entering the dark room of the child.

He flips the light switches on, and she sits up, eyeing this older man.

"I'm sorry I was peeking..." She starts, and Dumbledore smiles and waves a hand dismissively.

"I honestly expected nothing less from a child as bright as you." In front of him is a desk and a chair, and he motions his hand to the chair. "May I?" She nods, and he takes a seat in the chair, facing her.

"Am I in trouble?" She squeaks out.

"Trouble?" She nods. "Why do you think you're in trouble?"

"I can do things that others can't, make things lift off the ground, talk to animal even snakes, and I accidentally threw someone into a wall without touching them."

"I see. Anything else?" She thinks back to last week, the week where her parents got drunk and got into a fight and got angry and got yelled and began to throw things and...

Morana didn't finish that thought, that thought was too dark, and she didn't want to go back to that thought.

"No." She finally says.

"Good." Dumbledore leans forward and folds his hands together. "Do you know why I'm here, Ms Skotadi?"

"I hope you're here to help me. Otherwise, I truly am a lost hope." She tries to make a joke of it, but Dumbledore didn't have to use a spell to tell she wasn't joking.

"No one is ever truly lost, Ms Skotadi." He sighs. "Though I suppose everyone feels like they are at least once in their life." She blinks back at him. "Ms Skotadi, if you would allow me, I am here to help you. You would come to Hogwarts, a school specifically designed for gifted people such as yourself." She perks up at this.

"There are others like me? You mean I'm not alone?" Dumbledore couldn't begin to imagine what she was going through; she must have thought she was going insane and alone in the world, and to finally hear that there were others out there just like her...

"No, there is a whole other world, hidden but right in front of you if you know where to look, of people who have the same abilities you do. Would you like to learn how to control them?" She nods excitedly, unable to speak for she was happy. "Good," He says and hands her an envelope. "You may open that when we leave." He begins to walk out of the room only to stop short of the door. A question he dared not to ask but knew it was necessary nonetheless; and how this situation was all too familiar. "Just one more thing, if you will allow me before I go."

"Of course." She says, turning her attention away from the letter and to him.

"Can you control them, your powers?" She stared at the older man, his eyes were slightly filled with fear, horror even, she knew her answer wouldn't be good, of course, she could control them, but he didn't want to hear that.

"Not as much as I would like," She says and then looks down. "Only if there is a strong emotion evolved am I able to alter them." She lied, and Dumbledore knew she lied, he knew she could control them, he didn't have to ask, but he was hoping that he was wrong.

"We can help you with that too, that letter will contain all the information you need, Ms Skotadi."

"Ace, call me Ace. Everyone does." Dumbledore smiles and then leave her sitting in the room with the letter in her hand.

* * *

~To Ms M. Skotadi~

Two Millicent Road Apt 2

~West Bredgeford~

* * *

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**

**Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**

Dear Ms Skotadi,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

**Minerva McGonagall **

**Deputy Headmistress **

* * *

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM **

_**First-year students will require: **_

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

_**Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags. **_

**COURSE BOOKS **

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following: **_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic

by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory

by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration

by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions

by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

**OTHER EQUIPMENT **

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS**

**ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK**

Yours sincerely,

**Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus **

**Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions**

* * *

The letter was beyond her wildest dreams; she wasn't alone. There was another sub-world right in front of her face with people exactly like her.

She ran down the stairs just in time to watch the two teachers leave and her parents discussing something underneath their breaths.

"What is it, Morana?" Her father snaps.

"I, um, I wanted, well I," She stumbles through her words unable to form the sentence she wanted.

"You know how I hate mumbling." Her mother chimes in and Ace takes a deep breath and then starts again.

"I wanted to tell you that I really want to go here. I think it would be best, I would be able to control whatever this is." Her parents look to each other and then back to her.

"Are you sure that you want this? You would only be able to come home during the summer." Her mother states and walks over to her, brushing a strand of hair out of her daughter's face.

"Yes, I don't want to live like this; living in perpetual fear is not living mother." She takes in her mother's brown eyes there was no hint of emotion, she was completely void of anything. This should have scared her, it should have sent fear down to hear very spine, but she grew up with this gaze, this half empty, "I don't give a crap" look. She never received any real words of comfort or warmth from her even less since the incident a few weeks back.

"I understand what you're going through Morana, and we-" He further starts.

"How can _you_ of all people understand what I'm going through, this has _never_ happened to you or affected anyone you know, I don't even know my real parents, this may give me a chance to finally figure out who they are and why they gave me up! You _do not_ understand what it's like to be the only one, to feel like you're going crazy, and then have these very nice people walk into your home and tell you that there is another world out there filled with people just like me." The lights in the house start flickering, and her parent's eyes go wide in shock, this was new for all of them, her emotions hadn't spiraled this far out of control before and she had begun to control her powers. Her parents backed up from her, terrified of another incident.

"Even you, my _parents_, are terrified of me. I think it would be best for all of us if I went to Hogwarts." Her father nods, thinking that this was the best possibility there was for her, there wouldn't be a better one. If anyone found out, she would more than likely be stuck in a lab facility and poked and prodded for tests and abilities for the remainder of her life.

"Then you will go, tomorrow we will head down to this 'Diagon Alley', and we will get you everything you need." Her father says, walking up to her and then placing a hand on her shoulder. "For now, you need to get some rest." A beat. "Go to bed."

Ace heads up the stairs, her mind racing with what Hogwarts was like and what this mysterious Diagon Alley held for her. Where was she going to get all the supplies, obviously there wasn't a shop that carried those wizard items. Ace couldn't wait. She finally felt, for a small moment, at peace with herself, like she wasn't fighting every waking minute to be something she wasn't.

She climbs back into her bed and promptly shuts off her lamp, trying to fall asleep but ultimately failing and staying up the whole night.

She watched out her window as the sun began to rise and then finally it was late enough in the morning that her parents would be up and she could start getting ready for their trip.

She threw on her most beautiful pair of jeans, a dark blue blouse and fashionable boots, modest, stylish and practical.

Her curly white hair was another matter. She had gorgeous curls, and because her hair wasn't pure white but more grey than white, she referred to her hair as smoke, and sometimes it acted as such when the wind blew.

She pulled half of her hair up and out of her face, still allowing for length and volume.

She grabs the folded up letter and begins to head down the stairs when there's a soft knock on the door, and she rushes to answer it.

She opens the door, and Minerva is standing outside the door.

"Ms Skotadi, I'm here to escort you to Diagon Alley and help you get everything you'll need." Ace takes a step and allows her to enter the house. "My name is Professor McGonagall, I'm head of Gryffindor House, and I teach transfigurations." She says and walks into the house further, and Ace shuts the door. "I know Headmaster Dumbledore met with you last night while I was explaining everything to your parents."

"What's Gryffindor?"

"One of our four houses that you will be sorted into, I hope you are sorted into Gryffindor, you would make a fine addition to the house." Ace nods along, trying to process everything that the Professor was throwing at her. "Are your parents going to be joining us, Ms Skotadi?" She nods, but the worry is evident on her face.

"Yes, they said they would take me to the Alley, but they're not up yet." The minute that Ace said that her parents weren't up yet Professor McGonagall knew they weren't in the house, that they would not, in fact, be taking her to Diagon Alley, or supporting her in any way shape or form. They had abandoned her.

"Well no use in waking them up, you'll get to see them over breaks, and frankly we're late. Come now." She says, and Ace begins to follow behind her but stops.

"What about my clothes and things? Don't I need to pack?"

"You will buy everything you need at Diagon Alley and will promptly switch into the required clothes, other than that you will need nothing else."

"And what of my parents, I can't just leave without saying goodbye?" Professor McGonagall sighs, the kid showed heart, she indeed did, but the answers she would seek would not be found in her parents.

"If you go check on your parents only heartache will follow, the answers you seek lie in front of you, not behind you, and they most certainly do not lie in your parents." McGonagall takes a quick breath, she was trying to keep Ace from heartbreak, to keep her from finding out that her parents really had given up on her, but she didn't understand how most muggles worked, at least not yet. Most were frightened of magic, and what magic people could do, it could even turn your life long partner against you if they found out.

"Why are you trying to keep me from them?"

"I'm trying to protect you, Ms Skotadi. I want what is best for you, and if you go and check on your parents, you will only hurt yourself more." Ace stares back at her elder and then, finally, after what seemed to be minutes, she nodded in agreement.

"It wouldn't be the first time they've let me down on something important." Ace sighs. "Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

Professor McGonagall had made sure that Ace had gone to the right places and gotten the correct items and they made sure to get her a buggy for all this stuff.

"If you use magic, why not make a never-ending suitcase, that would seem the most practical and I'd only ever need one suitcase?"

"Well, of course, we have those, but you're not allowed those at Hogwarts." Says Professor McGonagall and Ace stops dead in her tracks.

"A school of magic and we can't have magical items?"

"When you are old enough, Ms Skotadi, you may enchant the suitcase if you so wish, but in the meantime, you will have no such thing. Now, come, we must visit ollivanders and get you your wand." She walks off, and Ace practically runs to catch up to her and makes sure nothing falls off the cart.

McGonagall stops short and waits for Ace to catch up; she's standing next to an oddly shaped little shop. It had two glass columns on either side and above the door was the shop's name 'Ollivanders Makers of fine wands since 382 BC'.

"There's no way anyone is that old." Ace breathes under her breath, taking in the site of the shop.

"Ms Skotadi, I am on a time schedule, if you will please hurry along." McGonagall says and holds out an arm into the doorway of Ollivanders, and Ace sets her cart outside the door and walks up the few steps and into the shop, with the Professor close behind.

"Ah! Professor McGonagall!" A man with pure white hair says coming from a back room. The side and backs of the walls contained wands reaching to the ceiling, and there was a ladder just a few feet shorter than the roof that was laid against the right wall.

"Wow." Ace says taking in the shop and all the wands it contained.

"And you brought a pureblood-" He stops what he was saying and walks closer to Ace, and Ace focuses her attention to him, he had glasses that he peered out over, and he was dressed rather fashionably, even muggle like. "No... not a pureblood, you're something different!" He lights up.

"I beg your pardon?" Ace asks.

"Never the matter," Says the Professor. "Ollivander if you'll please, I am on schedule." Ollivander looks to Minerva and nods.

"Of course, of course." He sets a wand box on the counter. "Tell me your name, child."

"Morana Acacia Skotadi, but everyone calls me Ace." Ollivander eyes her, Acacia was a type of wood, and not many people had acacia wood wands. The user required subtly more so than bangs-and-smells type magic, and because of their temperament, only the most gifted witch or wizard was worthy.

"Ace it is then," He opens the box and reveals a black chestnut wand, simple as can be. "Here we go, a black chestnut wand with a dragon-string core." He hands it to Ace, and she takes it gingerly in her hands. "Give it flick." She eyes him cautiously, why would she need to do that? It was a wand and it was fine, she saw no problems with it. "Come on, don't be shy." She flicks it, and the ladder starts going crazy, sliding itself up and down the walls and walls of wands. He quickly takes out his wand to stop the commotion. "No, not that, very wrong on that." He walks over to another shelf and pulling the ladder over to climb up on it, pulls a wand from one of the higher most shelves. He jumps down and pulls the wand out of the box. "Elmwood, fourteen and a half inches, with unicorn hair." He hands it to her, and this time she takes it and flicks it. Lights go out, and wands throw themselves to the floor. "No!" He says and takes the wand back.

"Perhaps something that will suit her name..." McGonagall suggests, and Ollivander looks to her.

"With all due respect, Professor McGonagall, the only one wand left of that wood is the rarest wand I've made, and no one has come close to suiting it yet." A breath. "Perhaps a hornbeam would be best suited." He says and pulls a wand out from underneath the desk in front of them. "Try it." She flicks it and the glass in the windows cracks and explodes around them. Ollivander looks to McGonagall and sighs. "We shall try the wand you suggest." He walks away. "Perhaps that will tell us if we're closer." He mumbles under his breath as he walks into the back.

"Have I done something wrong?" Ace asks the Professor.

"No, Ms Skotadi, we are trying to find the wand that fits you best."

"Fits me?" McGonagall's stare was one of business and facts, not a pleasant one of warmth or comfort.

"Haven't you heard that the wand chooses the wizard?" Ace looks back at her with shock. Wands aren't sentient; they can't be, they're just wooden sticks.

There's a loud crash, and Ollivander mumbles something inaudible, a swear perhaps, before he comes out with a golden box.

"This will tell us if we're warm." He says setting the box on the table. The long golden box with black lettering on it, the case that held the wand was special. Perhaps this was one of his best. He pulls the wand out of the case and reveals it to not only Ace but Professor McGonagall too.

The minute McGonagall laid eyes on the wand he knew just what he meant by rare.

The wand was long, at least fourteen and a half inches if not more, and was a warm brown colour. The base of the wand was intricate, wrapped around the base of the wand was more wood, except it was curved and black and white, and at the very base of the wand sat an emerald.

"This, my dear is as rare as they come. Fifteen inches, very flexible, made mostly of acacia wood. The base is twirled in Ebony and Holly Tree wood with a core of an Occamy egg." He says and hands it with the utmost care to her. "There is no other like this." She takes it in her hand and flicks it.

The ladder is put back in place along with the wands and the rest of the room, and the glass reverses itself, creating the windows once more. The lights around them glow and then calms down to normal.

"A sensitive wand for a sensitive wizard, indeed. Take care of this wand, it will be fierce with you at first, but will warm up to you once you've begun to use it." He says placing the wand back in the box. "Let no one else use it; it will only due ill for them." He hands the box to her, and she takes it, a grin spreading on her face.

"How much do we owe you?" Asks the Professor, but Ollivander holds a hand up and shakes his hand.

"Nothing, I've been meaning to get rid of this wand for years." McGonagall nods and escorts Ace out of the room.

Ace sets the golden box on top of her cart, and they begin to walk down Diagon alley.

"Are wands sentient?" Ace inquires.

"Somewhat." Says McGonagall, passing of the young girl as she spots the Weasley family just in front of her.

"William cut that out!" Screams an older woman who was with her husband and her bunch of children, every single one of them was ginger.

"Mrs Weasley!" Shouts McGonagall, grabbing the woman's attention, who instantly shifted from mother to friend as she saw Professor McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall! A pleasure!" She says walking up to the two of them, her children and husband in tow.

"Yes, indeed." Ace spots the so-called William and instantly is attracted to his looks, his long shaggy hair, his hazel blue eyes, and clear pale complexion. He was gorgeous.

"Hi, my name is Ace." She says, holding out her hand to William, and grabbing his attention.

"The name is William, but I go by Bill." He says and shakes her hand.

"Ms Skotadi, I have to get going, but the Weasley's will show you the rest of the way." Says McGonagall, who promptly turns to Bill. "And I expect for you to make a good impression on Ms Skotadi, Mr Weasley." She turns and walks away disappearing into the crowd.

"Does she always address everyone by their last name?" Ace asks Bill.

"Yeah, you get used to it."

"Hello dear, I'm Bills mum." She says pulling Ace into a warm embrace. "Professor McGonagall explained your situation to us, so you'll be tagging along the rest of the way with us if you don't mind.

"None at all, I think I'd end up lost anyways without a guide." Mrs Weasley grins. She had her hair pulled back and was wearing some rather shabby robes, but she was pretty nonetheless.

"Right then, off to the platform we go, time to get you to the train or you'll be walkin' ta Hogwarts." She says pushing everyone, even Ace, who, by Mrs Weasley's standards, was now part of the red-haired family.

"Morana do you have everything you need?" She asks, making sure her kids had everything they needed before getting on the train.

Bill mouths her first name and looks to her curiously.

"Yes, ma'am, and it's just Ace, please."

"Of course." Mrs Weasley nods, as she shoves everyone further on.

They had reached kings cross station and were practically running to get there in time, and when they had arrived, everyone was out of breath.

They slowed to a stop in front of a wall.

"Alright now, Charlie and Bill you go first." Said their mother, and the two brothers lined up and ran at the wall.

Ace filled with dread as she watched the two brothers run at the wall, and just as she was about to yell and stop them, the carts vanished along with them.

"Alright, now you go, Ace." Ace looked to Mrs Weasley and then back at the wall. "Best run at it if you're the slightest bit nervous."

"This is terrifying."

"You'll be fine, Bill and Charlie will be waiting for you right on the other side, come on, or you'll be even later." She takes a deep breath and starts to run at the wall, and even though she saw the two boys go through it, she still was fearful that it might be real, and she would just run into the wall.

Instead, she ran through it and about hit Bill and his cart, lucky for her she had quick reflexes.

"Atta girl!" Bill practically shouts and smiles at her. She had made it through her first real magical thing, and if she was honest with herself, she was proud even though it was quite a small accomplishment.

The conductor walks up to them and helps them load their items onto the train. They take their seats just as the train departs.

"Are you a pureblood?" Bill asks Ace, who just stares back at him like he had spoken a different language.

"A what?"

"Pureblood. Someone who has had no muggle-borns in their family." Charlie chimes in.

"What's a muggle?" She asks.

"People with no magic, the rest of the world really." Bill says giving her a soft smile, hopefully as to not overload her with information or possibly frighten her off.

"I don't know; I was adopted." Ace says, and she turns her head to look out the window. "I suppose anything is possible really."

"Well, just a forewarning, there's a pureblood family by the name of Malfoy, ugly people, they have hair just like yours, except more blonde than white." Bill says, and Ace looks to him and smiles.

"Thanks for the warning then." She turns to look back out the window and then a question forms. "Is it always like that with your family?"

"Like what?" Bill returns.

"Frantic, almost missing the train?" Bill and Charlie look at each other and start laughing.

"Yeah, going on five years and nothing has changed." Bill says through his laughing, which in turn cause her to laugh with them.

The train was one of the smoothest she's been on, and it was filled with students wearing different coloured ties, and a few whispers were mentioning cursed vaults and Jacob, whatever that meant.

"What about you?" Asks Charlie.

"How d'ya mean?"

"Did you have a frantic life back in the muggles world?" She chuckles lightly and shakes her head.

"No, my adoptive parents were always on my case about being ready thirty minutes before the time we needed to leave. I don't think I've ever been late to school."

"Quite the sticklers then." Bill says grinning.

"So what's with all the different coloured ties and capes?"

"Each of the colours represents one of the four houses at Hogwarts. Red for Gryffindor, yellow for Hufflepuff, blue for Ravenclaw, and green for Slytherin. You'll be sorted into one of them yourself." Says bill. "Hopefully you'll get Gryffindor and then I'll be in charge of the new students and can help show you around," He winks at her, and she gives a small smile as she can feel her cheeks flush.

"What's it like living with muggles, then?" Charlie asks. How would she know any different.e

"Dunno, what's it like living with magic folk?" Charlie's grin fades away, realisation written all over his face, and Bill snorts at his brother.

"Another Question if ya don't mind..." Ace trails off and looks pointedly at Bill.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"I've been hearing whispers about cursed vaults and a man named Jacob." Bill and Charlie look to each other.

"We're not really allowed to talk about that," Charlie says.

"He's right, it's kind of a forbidden subject, but you'll find out eventually, especially if you meet Riona." Bill says, completely ignoring Charlie.

"Riona?" Ace asks tilting her head.

"Jacob was her brother, and he was searching for some alleged vaults that contained some priceless artefacts." Bill says and shifts, so he's more comfortable, and wraps his scarf around his neck, it was quite chilly, and Ace herself was wishing she had dressed warmer.

"So, what's she to play in this all, then?"

"She's following in her brother footsteps, searching for the lost vaults, it's her second year here. But she's not gotten anywhere. They seem to be myth still." Ace nods. "You should change into your robes, Ace; we've not much longer."

"Sounds good." She stands up and grabs a set of the uniforms out of her suitcase and then walks out of the compartment to find the loo.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Charlie asks, looking to brother with his head half-cocked.

"Tell her I was one of the people who found the first vaults, she's a first year she doesn't need to go getting into trouble." Charlie raises his eyebrows at his older brother. "What?!"

"If she gets put into Gryffindor she's going to join you, you know?"

"Not if I can help it."

"Yeah? And how you gonna do that, she obviously fancies you." Bill turns his head sharply towards Charlie.

"You think so?" He beams at his brother, who just rolls his eyes in return.

"You're so annoying; you know that?" Bill grins, content to hear that someone had a crush on him.

The train comes to a slow just as Ace turned back up to the compartment dressed in uniform, setting her muggle clothes in her suitcase.

"You ready?" Charlie asks beaming with joy.

"Absolutely terrified, if I'm quite honest." Bill and Charlie give a slight chuckle, and the train comes to a complete stop and releases a burst of gas along with it.

"Just leave your things on the train, they'll be awaiting you in your room after the feast, and just listen for Hagrid when he calls for the first years." She nods and follows after Bill and Charlie, and as soon as they step off the train, an eight-foot man starts to call for the first years.

From what the brothers told her that man had to be Hagrid, as what seemed to be the rest of the first years flocked towards him.

It was quite hard to see as it was night time and few people held lanterns, so she lost the Weasley brothers fairly easy, and she knew that she had to go with the rest of the first years, who were no crowding around the giant man.

"Alright first years, gather round!" Hagrid booms over the group. He had brown hair that, much like the Headmaster, got lost with his beard, and his brown eyes seemed warm and welcoming. He looked like a kind gentle type, someone who could potentially be an ally to her if the occasion arose. "All of you have to fit in these boats now, so don't be strangers and tuck in!" Hagrid says and motions to the boats behind him, and the first years blink back at him. "Don't just stand there; get a move on!" The kids scatter and rush to the boats, and Ace follows slowly after, cautious of the ships, worried that with all the weight they might sink. "Not terrified of water are you?" Hagrid asks who stood behind her.

"No sir, just worried that these boats won't hold all of us without sinking." Hagrid smiles and holds a hand out to help her into the nearest boat.

"Don't worry; these are magic boats." She takes his hand as she steps into the boat. There was no shaking or rocking just a smooth wooden floor that felt quite stable. "Atta girl." Hagrid grins. "Welcome to Hogwarts." He says as the boat departs.

The boats themselves were faster than she imagined them to be, and within seconds the school, or rather a castle, came into clear view.

"Wow." She says breathlessly as she looks up at the castle. "Can't have never-ending suitcases, but you can have a castle for a school and no one blinks an eye." She breathes and shakes her head.

Within minutes they had reached the castle and were being escorted inside and up to a staircase by a student.

He was dressed in blue accents, which was what house again? Ravenclaw?

"Everyone make sure you're on the staircase, they have a tendency of moving, so it's best if you stick close." He says as the staircase rumbles and then begins to swing itself to another platform. "My name is Dean, I'm head boy, and I'll be helping you first years out until you get sorted into your houses and settled in." The staircase stops and a clicking of heels can be heard coming down another flight of stairs, and then the clicking stops.

"Good evening, students," Ace looks up at the top of the staircase and sees Professor McGonagall. "I am Professor McGonagall, head of house, and I will be guiding you through our sorting ceremony tonight." Ceremony? "In just a few minutes, we will head through the doors and head into the great hall where you will be sorted into one of the four respective houses. Those houses are Gryffindor the brave, Hufflepuff the kind, Ravenclaw the Wise and, Slytherin the ambitious." She sees someone motion towards the door and nods. "One minute, while I get the names." She says and walks over to an ugly looking man who had a cat at his heels. He hands her a scroll, and she smiles at him, thanking him probably, and walks back to the group of first years. "Dean you're dismissed, go ahead to the feast." He nods and makes his way forward.

"First years..." She says and turns to walk towards the great hall doors. "Follow me!"

Ace is pushed along in the crowd with the rest of the first years as the file into great hall that had four long tables that the students sat at.

"File into one line!" McGonagall calls as She stops at the front of the room and with a wave of her wand a brown stool and brown witches hat that sat atop the stool, appeared next to her "Come up to the front, sit on the stool and I will place the sorting hat on your head accordingly, and once sorted you will go to your houses table." She unrolls the scroll and begins to read the names off.

Black, Evans, and Smith were sorted into Hufflepuff; with Abbot Reys and Voss in Ravenclaw; Rhodes, McCoy, Balker, Price and Ripley in Gryffindor; and Donahue sorted into Slytherin. She was the only Slytherin so far.

"Skotadi, Morana" McGonagall calls, and the group stays silent looking to each other to see who was going to move, to see this 'Morana'.

Her hands become clammy, and her heartbeat quickens, dread fills her. What if the sorting hat couldn't find a place for her in one of the houses, what if he said that she didn't belong and needed to be sent home. That was how school was for her; she was always the oddball out, last to be picked.

"Come on, don't be shy." McGonagall says trying to coax her up to the front.

Ace takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with the smell of the school, parchment and faint food smells like it was just waiting to be served.

She takes a rigid step forward, and then another, and she's the most rigid person there.

She makes it to the stool, to McGonagall, to the hat, and McGonagall places the hat upon her head.

"Difficult mind, I haven't seen the likes of one of you in years." The hat says. "No magic family either, and yet not a muggle-born. Interesting mind indeed." That hat rocks on her head slightly. "Brave as a Gryffindor, Wise as a Ravenclaw, Loyal like a Hufflepuff, and Ambitious like a Slytherin. Though perhaps not as kind as a Hufflepuff ay?" The hat chuckles and Ace only tightens up more. "Are you brave like a Gryffindor, or brave like a Slytherin?"

"What's the difference?" The hat gives a smirk.

"You've got all the courage you need, but how you use it is the true question, not to mention that you're wise beyond your years."

"I don't want to be known for being brave, it could be seen as not thinking before acting, and I don't want to look stupid." She whispers to the hat, and the hat nods, or at least she thinks she does with the way it moves on her head.

"That's been ten minutes, the longest yet!" A kid from the Gryffindor table whispers.

"This is the first hat stall in ages!" A Ravenclaw whispers and many more whispers broke, and it sounded almost like a tea kettle boiling,

"Not to brave, but brave enough, and smart enough to achieve anything, but even more ambitious to prove yourself worthy without hurting anyone in the process." She sighs, this is where she would be cast out and expelled, the hat not being able to decide, and he would say in a few more seconds that she wasn't fit to come to Hogwarts and to leave. "I deem you…" He breaks, and waits for a few seconds, finalising his decision. "Slytherin!"

The hat is pulled off her head, and she can see the Slytherin table proud to have another member.

"Goodluck, Ms Skotadi." McGonagall says and then calls the next name up.

During the Slytherins pride and uproar, the rest of the tables, the rest of the houses, are either quiet, or a few students are silently boo'ing.

"Welcome to Slytherin house, Morana." A girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes, with winged eyeliner on that, could kill, says and holds out her hand for Ace to shake.

"It's just Ace if you will." The blonde girl nods with a huge grin on her face.

"The name's Aurora, I'm a prefect, and I'll be making sure that you have everything you need, and any questions you have you can ask me!" She beams, and Ace nods in her direction, watching the rest of the students get sorted and watching the houses cheer for each other, except for Slytherin it seemed.

"Why don't people cheer for our house?" Ace asks Aurora, who just looks to someone else across from here and then down to the table.

"We've got a bad history of producing the worst wizards possible; they think we're evil." Aurora says, practically defeated.

"Just because we've got a few bad ones doesn't mean all of us are evil." Ace says, and venom stirs in her stomach.

"Yeah, well the rest of them, they don't see that." Ace just narrows her eyes.

She's been the oddball out for as long as she can remember, and now she's joined a group who has been singled out, where people single them out and seem them as bad, or evil.

Ace wouldn't stand for this; if she couldn't change her past, she would most definitely try and change the schools view on Slytherin.

She looked to the Gryffindor table, trying to find Charlie and Bill, and she found them with no difficulty, they sat at the table smiling and chatting away with their new additions to their house. Bill looked up and saw her staring at him.

He smiled at her, it wasn't one of the ones from earlier on the train that he had given her, it was more solemn, more of a sad smile, but it still touched his eyes. A smile that he was happy she found a place that suited her, but sadly it wasn't with him.

Charlie nudges him in the side, and his attention is brought back to the table, and he only half smiles at the jokes and new people.

He wished that she would have joined them, but if the sorting hat places them, then that is where they are meant to be.

As soon as the ceremony was over, the feast begins, and food magically appears on the table.

She fills her plate with biscuits and pies and other savoury foods that looked delightful to eat and begins to shove her face with the food.

"So are you from a pureblood family?" A Slytherin boy asks, his brown hair slicked back, and piercing blue eyes, he looked fourteen.

"If I were, I wouldn't know, I was adopted."

"So no relations to the Malfoy's?" Ace shakes her head at the boy's second question. "Interesting."

The feast passes, and eventually, Aurora leads them all the dungeons, which were apparently underneath the grounds and stretched out into the lake. To Ace, that didn't sound pleasing, and some of her other "brother and sisters" exchanged some words about how gloomy and dismissal it seemed.

She leads them down several staircases, until there were two splits offs, and it was here she spoke.

"This is the fastest way to the common room, and be sure to always take the rightmost staircase. Otherwise you'll end up at Snape's office." She said and then took them down the staircase, which lead to a white marble wall.

"Quia in somno, nostrum vincemus somnia." Aurora said, and a wall slid open, revealing a very exquisite dungeon.

It was nothing like what the others, or even Ace, had thought it would be like.

It had a green hue to it, due to the glass windows that looked into the lake and the green globes that held a light in them, and the sitting area looked expensive with the furniture that was there, but it looked cosy.

"So we just say the password to get in?" Ace asks Aurora, and she nods.

"Yeah, but the passwords change every fortnight, to ensure that no one can get in here with an old password."

"And how will we know this new password?"

"No need to worry, you'll know." Ace squints her eyes at her prefect, feeling like she wasn't quite right in the head, but then again this was a magic school, so anything goes.

Ace hears faint footsteps nearing the entrance to the common room.

"Quia in somno, nostrum vincemus somnia." A males voice says in a monotone voice and in steps a man, probably a professor.

He was dressed completely in black, his cape, pants, and jacket were black, the only thing that differed in colour was light ruffle of white poking out from his wrists, signalling that he had a white shirt on underneath.

His hair was long and black, and his eyes were similar, they were such a dark colour of brown that they looked black.

"My name is Professor Snape; I am head of house for Slytherin and your potions master." He says, entering the room with all eyes on him. "As you may know, Slytherin is known for producing the worst wizards, but also the best, as Merlin was one of us." He drew out the words, making sure each new student understood what he was saying. "I expect all of you to strive for perfection, as we have yet to lose in anything, whether it be the house cup," His eyes land on Ace and she sees something in his eyes. There was no longer a burning hatred but something soft, a memory that he had been reminded of perhaps. "Or the quidditch games. I will have no silliness, no hazing, no bullying inside of our house. You are family; you will act like one, if you don't you will be punished, accordingly." He takes his gaze off of Ace and looks to the others. "If you do not get along, you will work it out between yourselves, and you will not come to me for help. You are wizards, and I expect you to act as such. Lastly, you represent this house, and in doing so, you represent me. Are, we, clear?" Everyone nods, not daring to say a word to the intimidating professor, but Ace verbally acknowledges him, and he turns his piercing glare to her for a few seconds before turning and walking out of the common room.

"Alright, you heard him." Aurora says breaking the tension in the room. "Girls your bunk is up to the staircase to the left, boys to the right. Everything has been brought up, so find your belongings and tuck in. Trust me when I say you don't want to miss your first classes or be late. Snape will know."

The first years nod and scatter to their bedrooms and Ace follows shortly behind.

She ended up with three girls, not the typical five in a room, which meant less chatter and more time to be alone and study independently.

The rooms were marvellous. Five bunks lined the right-most wall, and the left wall was made of glass that looked into the lake, giving the room a green hue.

The sheets were green and grey, and the wood of the bunks was enchanted to look silver.

All in all, everything seemed upscale and expensive.

"I'm Elara." A black haired girl says and holds her hand out for Ace to shake.

"Call me Ace." Elara grins at her, her smile reaching her brown eyes.

"We'll be great friends. I just know it!" Elara beams and Ace gives her a faint smile and nods in return.


	3. Chapter 3

p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" There was no set time to wake up, just be on time and eating breakfast before your first class./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" This was where you got your schedules; they were handed out to you over breakfast./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace had grilled Aurora on all her questions regarding the morning last night, and Aurora could only answer so many before it got too late, but of course, only a fraction of her questions were answered./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She woke up to people in the room rustling about and opening and closing their wardrobes and luggage./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" The lake water light up the room in a completely green hue, brighter and more vibrant than last night./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She had only removed her cape last night before passing out from the exhaustion of questioning he prefect and from her travels earlier that day./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She had fallen asleep in her robes from yesterday, and they were quite stale./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Come on, Ace, get dressed and let's go eat breakfast." Elara beams at her, and Ace frowns./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Of course, she was placed in a room with an early bird, that was just her luck; it had always been her luck./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "When's breakfast?" Ace asks./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Starts at seven ends at eight-fifty-five," Elara says and throws on her robe, fastening it in the front./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Alright, save me a seat." Ace says, and Elara nods and walks out of the dorm room./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace pulls a fresh set of clothes out of her trunk and throws them on, she quickly fixes her hair and throws her shoes on and heads down to the great hall, the teachers were up on the back wall sitting at the long table once again./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" McGonagall was walking around handing out papers, along with Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick who were doing the same./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Professor Snape was nowhere to be seen at the long table; he had seemed to have disappeared./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Looking for our head of house, Ace?" Says the brunette boy from last night./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, I figured he'd be handing out our schedule like the rest of 'em."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "No, he tries his best to not interact with us as much as he can, he uses the prefects for everything, and I mean everything." He looks down to her, her eyes filled with questions, she was not pure-blood, but even muggle borns can look pureblood sometimes. "I'm Caspian; everyone calls me Cas." He says and holds out his hand, and she shakes it./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Hey! Ace!" She hears Bill shout her name and she turns around and sees him waving at her. She smiles, still so kind to her even though he didn't want her in that house./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Cas, do you mind if I sit with them?" He shakes his head no./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "None at all, be sure to get your schedule from Aurora though." She nods and walks up to Aurora./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Can I get my schedule?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Last name again?" Aurora asks her, annoyed with all the first years./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Skotadi." She pulls a piece of parchment out of the stack with hir name on it in the right-hand corner and hands it to Ace who grabs it and runs to Bill./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Mind if I sit with you?" Ace asks Bill, who had already started to slide down and make room for her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "None at all, you're always welcomed here." Ace grins at Bill./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You're fantastic; you know that?" She winks, and Bill blushes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Thanks." A beat. "How is Slytherin house?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You know, when they said dungeons, I wasn't expecting high-quality everything, I thought it would be dark, cold, and gloomy."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "That's your house for ya, full of rich bratty kids, Slytherin is." Says a Gryffindor across from them./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Oi, shut your mouth, Jake," Bill snaps sticking up for her. "Not every Slytherin lives up to the stereotypes."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Bill, it's alright, really." Ace says and puts a hand on his arm, looking to him. "I've dealt with worse people and worse stereotypes." She says, and Bill looks to her, gentleness in her eyes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Fine." He grinds his teeth together. "But only cause you asked me to." Ace nods. "What are your classes like Ace?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Well," Ace looks at the piece of paper in her hand, her schedule consisted of seven classes, one rest period and lunch. "I start with transfiguration and then go-to Charms followed-"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'm assisting McGonagall first period. I can walk you to class if you want." She smiles at him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, that would be wonderful actually."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" A girl with straight brown hair, tanned skin, and brown eyes comes flying between Jake and another Gryffindor./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Bill, you're not gonna believe what we found out! It is absolutely mad, but it all makes sense now and…" She looks Ace up and down, examining her, and when her eyes fall on the Slytherin emblem, she snarls. "Who is she and why is she her?" She points a scrawny finger in Ace's direction./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Easy Ri," Bill says, and lowers her finger to the table. "She's a first year, and she's a friend."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You're friends with a Slytherin? How could you?" She hisses at him, and Ace looks to him, he's offended./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Look, we met in Diagon Alley, McGonagall asked me to look after her, we became friends, and she got sorted into Slytherin."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Oh," Ri says, and starts laughing sarcastically at Ace. "Oh, I remember you, little miss hat stall, got the whole school talking, you." She spits at her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Riona, enough!" Bill says in a stern tone./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "What?" She snaps./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You know what. I would expect you of all people to understand. She's not Merula, Ri. You saw for yourself; the house had a difficult time placing her between the three houses, come-"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, and she publicly humiliated Gryffindor along with her little trick. I'll take my findings to Rowan." She says abruptly getting up. "When you decide to stop fraternising with the enemy, you can join us." She storms off./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace has never felt more out of place in her life. She was attacked for just being a Slytherin, for something she couldn't control. It wasn't truly her choice to be in this house, had she taken the time to think she would have done it over, she would have chosen Gryffindor. She hated being here already. She was already tired of the unwarranted prejudice./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You know, maybe I should go I don't want to cause any issues for you or complicate things worse. I am a Slytherin after all." Her voice breaks and tears form in her eyes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She was unwanted by everyone, except Bill it seemed. Perhaps she could talk to McGonagall about switching houses; maybe she really did belong to Gryffindor./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She gets up, taking her things, and a green apple, with her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Ace, wait!" But it's too late; she's stormed off, she's already made her way to the Slytherin common room./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Quia in somno, nostrum vincemus somnia." She whispers to the wall, and it opens, letting her into the common room./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She throws her belongings onto the ground and takes a seat near the fireplace./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "God, I'm so stupid." She whispers to herself and wipes stray tears off of her cheeks and sniffles./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You must be our twelve-minute hat stall." A female voice says behind her, and Ace turns to look./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She was shorter than most girls, either not fully grown or just short. Her hair was short and brown with a streak of ginger, her skin paler than milk, and her eyes were what was disturbing, Her eyes were of a violet shade./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'm sorry, but who are you?" Ace asks the girl who stood on the bottom step that led up to the girl's dorms. She grinned maliciously at Ace and walked closer to her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "The name is Merula Snyde, the best witch of our time," Merula? Like Bill and Riona's Merula? The one that seemed to strike fear into the hearts of the two Gryffindors. "And, next in line for a prefect, and, eventually, head girl." She winks at Ace and sits in a chair across from her. "I heard you were with the Weasleys this morning."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, Bill is a friend."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "That Weasley boy is no friend of yours, nor will he ever be, he hangs out with Riona and her stupid, useless friends group," Merula says rolling her eyes and then crossing her legs. "If you stick with me, I can show you the way to greatness, and help you prove your worth as a witch, and as a Slytherin. You and I, we could rule the school. What do you say?" SHe leans forward and holds out a hand for Ace to shake./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace stares at her hand, she could sense the cruelty, and she could feel the contempt for her schoolmates rolling off of her in waves./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She was the school bully./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I think, I'm gonna have to pass." Ace says, shutting Merula down. Merula sneers and stands, clearly offended that the popular kid didn't want to be friends./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You should watch your back Skotadi. Otherwise, you just might end up with hair like your lover boy Weasley." She storms out of the common room, leaving ace to herself./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Tears stream down her face and she sniffles, trying to get ahold of herself. She was devastated, how could she already be hated so much when she hadn't even done anything? It was her first day, she hadn't said much, and she sat with Bill at the Gryffindor table./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Perhaps sitting with him was the problem, maybe she would just ignore him next time she saw him, it was the only logical thing to do./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"All by yoursssself, firsssst year? /em" Something hisses at her, and she looks up to see a sea snake outside the common room windows./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Who are you? What do you want?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"I am Ssssevin, and I want to friend you."/emThe snake hisses back, her glowing yellow eyes piercing the green water./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Why, what do I have to offer you?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"You're the only one who can understand my kind."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "So?" She says and getting up goes over to the window with the snake./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"Sssso, we could be friendssss, it looksss assss though you need one."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "What did you mean I'm the only one who could understand you?" She inquires, and she swears she can see the sea snake smirk./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"You're the only one to sssspeak parssseltongue in over fifty yearssss."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Parseltongue?" The snake nods its head. "I can speak snake?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"Yesss." /emIt hisses./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'm the only one?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"Yesss."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Who was the last person to speak it, then?" The snake blinks at her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" em"You're kind do not ssspeak his name."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Who-" She begins, but the snake is startled and swims away./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Ace, who are you talking to?" She turns around, and Cas is standing a few feet away from her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "The sna…" SHe trails off and then realises just how insane she sounded. "No one, I was talking to myself." Cas just eyes her, he knew she was lying, she was talking to someone or at least something, but it didn't matter that's not why he was here./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Are you okay?" He asks her changing the subject. "I saw that you left breakfast in a rush, did you even eat?" He takes a seat in a chair, keeping on the edge of it in case she needed him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'm fine, and yeah I took an apple." She pulls the green apple from a pocket in her robes and shows it to him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Careful now, don't get caught stealing food from the kitchens, Snape will kill you." He says in a playful tone and winks at her; she gives him a half smile in return. "Anyways, it's almost time for class, do you mind if I walk you to your class?" She's flattered by his request, he's one of the few people to show her kindness thus far, and it was probably because he was in her house./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I would love that actually." He stands up and gathers her things./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Well, come on then, don't want to be late do we?" She nods smiling and walks over to Cas who, then leads them out the dorm and down the halls towards Transfiguration./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I can take my books Cas; I don't want you carrying double of everything." She says, walking beside him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" He had ended up carrying his books along with hers, and she had all her books for all her classes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Well, then don't carry everything you need for every single class. We have a break between second and third, and you can swap your books out then along with lunch, you're gonna get tired of carrying these around all day."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Alright, I'll take the advice, it's been the only useful thing so far." He stops and turns to her, gently grabbing her arm./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Hey, don't let them get to you, they don't know how great you are, and they don't understand you." He says searching Ace's green eyes for a sign of acceptance at his words. "Give them time, and they'll come around." She gives him a smile that reaches her eyes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You think I'm great?" He nods./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, o'course, I mean who else can talk to the serpent outside the dungeons window?" Her eyes go wide, so he had seen her taking to the snake./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You saw?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Of course, I won't tell anyone, and you shouldn't either, it'll only cause you problems." He sighs and giver her arm a gentle squeeze. "But, Ace, seriously, you're brilliant, don't let anyone tell you differently." He gives her a soft smile, and then they hear Bill yelling at them./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Ace!" They look to him, and he's pushing past everyone in the crowd and getting some curses thrown his way. "Ace, hey!" He says coming to a stop in front of her and Cas./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Bill, you okay?" She asks him, and he was panting hard, obviously out of breath./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, I was hoping to catch you on you're way to Transfiguration class." Cas squeezes her arm again, bringing her attention back to him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'll let you two catch up." He hands her the books, and then winks at her before walking off and losing himself in the crowds./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Who is he?" Bill asks, pointing to Cas./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "His name is Caspian; he's in my house." She says and turns to look at Bill./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Oh," Bill says defeated./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "It's nothing like that; he's just one of the few people who's been nice to me, Bill." She sighs. "So, what's this class like?" Bill grins at her, and they begin to walk to class, and he rambles on, talking about transfigurations, and how McGonagall is a brilliant teacher./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "And, honestly Ace, you're gonna love the subject and the teacher, I can't wait to hear all-" Someone bumps into them and then another person pushes Ace onto the ground, and her books and paper go flying. Bill looks to the person standing over her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" He would recognise those cruel, violet eyes anywhere./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Merula." He hisses./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Weasly."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Leave her alone Merula; she hasn't done anything to you." Merula glares at him, and gets up in his face, she was a few inches shorter than him, he had a growth spurt over the summer, and now he was taller than everyone in his friend group./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Oh but she has, she's been hanging out with you and your little friend group, and that's more than enough to incite me." Merula pulls out her wand and holds it up to him in his face, and he reacts just as quickly putting his wand against her neck./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Ms Snyde." Comes Professor Snape's drawn-out voice. "Attacking the first years already?" He takes a few steps closer to Bill and Merula. She quickly pulls away from Bill, and they both shove their wands in their pockets. "May I remind you, it is the beginning of the year, and you have already caused an incident?" Merula gulps, and Bill goes to help up Ace who was watching everything go down. "Need I remind you, that you, are being watched?" Merely shakes her head and looks to her feet./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No, Professor Snape." Merula was only terrified of one person in the entire school, and he was standing in front of her, criticising her, belittling her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Good. Should there be any more incidents I would be more than happy to have you, expelled." He walks right through Bill and Merula, and they both stumble out of the way before Snape could push them aside./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Well, looks like you're one step away from being expelled, Merula, I'd be careful if I were you." Bill says taunting her, and she just sticks her tongue out at him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "See you losers." She says and storms off going to her class./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Bill pulls Ace off of the ground and hurries to pick up her books./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Come one, or we'll be late." He keeps her books and looks at her. "Ready for frantic running?" She grins wickedly at him, and they take off running, barely making it in time for class./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Mr Weasley, Ms Skotadi, please take your seats, class is about to start." McGonagall says as they rush into the room panting and out of breath./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Here." Bill says and hands her the books, and she can see only one spot left, in the very front row, just before the step up to her desk./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace slowly and begrudgingly makes her way up to the front and takes her seat. The ceilings are vaulted and rounded out, and the floor is made completely of marble, like the rest of the castle./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" The bell tower signals the end of breakfast and beginning of the first class./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Everyone take your seats," Says McGonagall walking up to the front of the classroom between the desks that had been moved to create a walkway. "Welcome first years to transfigurations, you will need A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch for this class. Now onto a more serious note." She gets to her desk and turns around facing the class. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "We will begin with the basics, the rules governing this area of magic, the different branches of it, and the wand movements and spell incantations. We will do all of this before we begin to even touch on what we're going to change. We must understand it before we attempt it, and that is why you must have the required book./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You will read all of that book before the semester is up and you will be able to recite to me everything from it. You will have become a master of the book. Are we understood?" She asks the group, looking pointedly to students./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yes." Several students answer at once, and she gives a curt nod./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Good." She turns to the blackboard next to her desk and begins to write. "Onto our lesson."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Needless to say, the first lesson on transfiguration was a complete bore, it droned on and on, and she thought the hour would never be up, and when the bell rang she was out of that classroom faster than a snitch./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Hey! Wait up!" Bill yells hoping Ace would slow and, wait for him, but she just continues her speed. "Ace!" He yells again, and he can see her take a breath and turn around to wait for him. She was obviously put off by him, or maybe perhaps the class, because her once sparkling eyes now seemed annoyed, especially with her lips pressed flat. "Ace, are you okay?" He asks, finally catching up to her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I thought you said this was a great class? Bill, this was a drag!" She says and gives him a half smile./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I know, I know, but it will get better, the first few weeks are always tough, but they get better, and they get so much more magical!" He says and grabs her shoulders. "I mean you get to learn about animagus in year three, you see McGonagall transform into her Animagus! Is that not fantastic?" He says and practically vibrates with happiness./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Animagus?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, shapeshifters essentially." Her eyes go wide./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I want to hear all about this during lunch, save me a seat, I've really got to get to class, or I'll be late for this one."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, I'll save you a spot, see you in a bit." He says, and she walks off to charms/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Charms were far more interesting, Professor Flitwick introduced the class, and they started on the leviosa charm, or rather studying it, and tomorrow they'd begin the second half of the lesson./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She had her break where she dropped off her unneeded books and took the two she needed for potions and defence against the dark arts, and she was now headed to potions./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She was heading down the stairs when she spotted Merula, and she was going to stay clear away from her, she didn't want another incident. She still felt bruised on her back from earlier when Merula almost threw her to the ground./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She made it past her, almost completely out of the door, almost to freedom, but then Merula spotted her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Where do you think you're going mudblood?" She yells over the crowd of people sitting and chatting in the common rooms./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "To my class, so if you please, I'll be on my way." Ace says and starts once again towards the wall./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Merula was fast, and Ace wasn't fast enough. She grabbed ace's collar and pinned her to a wall./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Who do you think you are, telling me you're going to leave without my permission?" The Slytherin's in the room had begun to stare, and those that were standing circled the two./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I just need to get to my classes Merula, have all of lunch to pick on me if you so choose." Merula glares daggers Ace, and Ace gives her a blank stare back./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "No, I choose now. You refuse my friendship, get me in trouble with Snape, and tell me when I can torment you, and you think you're going to get away with it?" Ace casts her eyes aside, not bothering to look her in the eyes, Merula didn't deserve the time of day from anyone, and perhaps that is why she acted the way she did. "Look at me!" She screams, and Ace covers her ears due to the ringing in her ears from her yelling. "Fine, you don't have to." She pulls out her wand and touches it to her hair. "Since I can't harm you, I can torture you and drive you insane," There's an evil glint in her eye when Ace looks up to her, and she knows that Merula is going to pull something. "Crinus muto," she whispers, and suddenly her smoky white hair turned the shade of Bill's, ginger. "As I said before, you'd end up with hair like your lover boy's." She lets go of Ace's collar and walks back over to her friend group, where they stand laughing at Ace and her new hair colour./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace takes one look towards the Slytherins in the common room, none of them, not one, interfered with or stopped Merula, they just sat there and watched it all go down./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Where was Cas when she really needed him, needed his help?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She was really starting to regret being in Slytherin; she thought she would find a home, a family here, but so far the only person here who actually cared for her was Cas./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Tears swell, and she leaves the common room in a hurry, not giving Merula the joy of seeing just how deeply hurt she was./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" They were supposed to be a family, that's what Snape had said last night, and he had also said that they were wizards now and needed to work out whatever was wrong among themselves./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Snape was of no use; he probably wouldn't even fix her hair if she asked./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She walked with her head down, not watching where she was going just following her feet to the potions room, which was evidently in the dungeons./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She saw a pair of shoes in front of her and tried to move out of the way of the person, but she didn't move fast enough./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She walked right into the figure, looked up to see that it was Professor Snape, and she took a few steps backwards in doing so./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'm sorry professor, I'll be sure to look next time." She says, and he can see the tears begin to spill over. It was the first day how could anyone cause her to feel this way; no one had that much control on someone./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Yet, her eyes and ginger hair reminded him of someone./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ginger hair, didn't she have white hair before? He swore she had smoky white, almost grey hair. A rare trait, something he had never seen before./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Had it not been for the fact that she looked like someone from his past, he would have stopped her, told her she had detention and been on his way, but instead, it was he that was stood frozen in his spot, he couldn't get rid of the uncanny resemblance to his someone./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Needless to say, he let her pass in peace, he would get her later whenever she showed up in his class./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She had made it to the potions classroom and she made sure to sit in the back, as far away from people and the professor as possible./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She didn't want anyone else making fun of her for her hair, she would just have Bill help her when she saw him at lunch, he had to know a spell, and if not him then Cas./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Professor Snape comes barging in, slamming the room door open and almost runs to the front of the room with his cape billowing behind him, it hit Ace's knee and he realises it's the same girl from the hallway. Now was his time to embarrass her, and he would do just that./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he begins. He spoke in nothing more than a whisper, but there was no need for anything louder. Everyone knew the potions master demanded attention, undivided attention at that so it was hard for the first years to miss what he was saying. They hear every word he was saying, just like McGonagall had commanded the room with transfigurations, and perhaps there was some magic behind that, but like McGonagall, he had the ability of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." Complete silence followed him, and then he turned his attention back to the redhead that ran into him earlier./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Ms Skotadi," He draws out with a louder, more even tone, and grabbing her attention. She looked purely frightened of him, more frightened than anyone else in the room, perhaps more frightened than anyone else in the years he's been teaching./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Her eyes were red puffy, she had been crying and her once curly silver hair, had been frizzled and turned ginger./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She really did look like someone he lost long ago, and he wasn't ready to come to terms with the pain, so he dealt with it the only way he could. He belittled his students./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yes, Professor?" She squeaks out, turning her contact to her desk and focusing on her books i nfront of her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "What, would I get if I crossed the powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Most likely the draught of living death, Sir." Snape squints his eyes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "And where might I find a bezoar, and why would I need one?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "A stone from the stomach of a goat, and it should save you from most poisons." Snape raises his head slightly, looking at her down his nose./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "And the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'm sorry, Professor?" Does she ask looking back up to snape?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Did I stutter, Ms Skotadi?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "No, Professor, I'm just, beg my pardon, but why are you asking me about aconite?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Because most students don't bother to open their books and rather prefer to try charms on the hair, Ms Skotadi." He slams his hands down on her desk, and she jumps back almost falling over in her seat, but she catches herself just in the nick of time. "For your stupidity, you have already cost your house a point, and earned yourself detention." He shoots off from her desk and walks back up to the front, grabbing a piece of paper off his desk he holds it up to his face and begins to read off names, but he never read her name, in fact, his exact words were "I'm not calling your name, I know you're here."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Potions didn't pass soon enough, and when it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, that didn't move fast enough either./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" SHe just wanted to get back to Bill and have him change her hair, or perhaps see Cas and have him help her./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She rushes to the common rooms as soon as class lets out, and takes one of her house scarves and wraps her hair up in it, making sure to hide every strand and her hairline so that no one would be any wiser./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She runs down the stairs and out the common room where she spots students coming from Snape's classroom and presses herself into the shadows of the hallway, hoping to make herself invisible, but more for the chance to avoid Merula./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" The crowd that came from the potions room seemed to be smiling and laughing, talking about their summer and how glad they were to see each other, and then she spots ginger amongst the crowd./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" She quickly identified them as Bill, someone she didn't plan on meeting here but her luck chanced out, and he was walking and talking with some other Gryffindor members./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Bill!" She yells and grabs his attention, but his eyes don't land on her. "Over here!" She calls to him again, and this time his eyes search the wall to his left, and he spots a student wrapped in a Slytherin scarf, with the face Ace/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I'll catch up with you later." He says to his group and parts from them walking over to where Ace stood./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Thank god you're here, I need your help." She says and grabs at the end of her scarf./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "With what?" She begins to unwrap the scarf and slowly reveal her red hair./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Well, I'm not freezing if that's what you're wondering." She takes the scarf off, ultimately showing her ginger hair to him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Wow," He says, examining her hair and he reaches out to touch a piece, soft and curly. "It looks nice on you."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yeah, well, Merula charmed me with it, and I lost a house point to Slytherin and earned detention, all in one class." She takes a deep breath, letting her lungs catch up to her. "Do you think you can change it back?" Bill slowly turns his attention back to her face and presses his lips together./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I only know one thing that reverses charms, but I don't know if it will work."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "If it doesn't we go to McGonagall or Flitwick; someone will know something." He nods and pulls out his wand from his robe, he touches the tip of the rod to her hair, except he was far more gentle than Merula, who had caught Ace's hair in her wand./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Reverte." He says, and it takes a few seconds before the ends begin to turn silver and eventually the silver slowly chases the red away./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ace throws herself onto him, hugging him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Thank you. Thank you so much. I owe you!" She squeals and then pulls away./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Hey, what are friends for?" He says and gives her a crooked smile. "Now, come on, before Snape catches us and assumes we're up to no good, and besides you don't want any more trouble, whether Snape or Merula."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Good idea."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "How did your hair incident happen?" Bill asks, making small talk./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Merula cornered me in the commons room, grabbed my collar, said she couldn't fight but that she would drive me insane." Bill nods, signalling that he is listening./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "If it happens again, and I'm sure it will, don't change it back for a while. SHow Merula that you're not truly affected by what she does." The heard footsteps behind them and Ace knew who they belonged to; she had run into him, of course, just after Merula charmed her hair to be ginger./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" Ice flowed through her veins, and she froze in her spot, what had Professor Snape seen, and would he say anything, would she get another day's worth of detention, or would she get them both detention. Would he take more points from Slytherin, could it be possible to get negative house points, what about Gryffindor, it was known that Slytherins, including Snape, hated the Gryffindors? Would she be expelled for talking and befriending a Gryffindor, and a Weasley at that?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Ms Skotadi, Mr Weasley." Comes Professor Snape's smooth baritone voice, barely above the whisper, but certainly far louder than when he was talking to his students in the potions classroom. There was no need for him to be any more emphatic, and he did not need to be any quieter because as most everyone knew in the school if he was going to ridicule you, he was going to make a show of it. "What, are the two of you doing, emlurking /emabout?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "We were hardly lurking about, Professor Snape," Bill begins, and Snape raises a single eyebrow and gives him a very pointed look to shut him up, and Bill stops and looks down to his feet./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Professor Snape, if you'll please, I didn't know a spell to change my hair colour back, and I thought Bill would know, and when I saw him coming from your classroom I pulled him aside and told him I needed his help, and-"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Enough-" He draws out, clearly annoyed with her babbling and explanation. "I can see that you fixed, your, hair, but since no one is around to vouch, for you, it-" There was another pair of footsteps and fast-paced straight towards them, or rather the professor. /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "On the contrary, Professor," Caspians tenor voice reaches the three's ears and snape looks up and seems even more annoyed than before if that were possible. "I watched it all godown, I was actually beginning to make my way over when you stopped them."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Mr Villin." Snape enunciates, his annoyance now evident in his voice./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Professor."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "You say you saw them, do, just, that?" Cas nods and Bill and Ace look up to him, and Ace smiles./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Yes, Professor, on my word, and you should know, I don't lie." Ace turns away, covering her face with her to hide the smirk. Snape steps around the two kids and walks up to Cas, who straightened his posture and puffed out his chest, trying to be as intimidating as Snape./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Were it emnot /emfor Mr Villin, here," Snape says towering over Cas. "I would have both of you in detention, but seeing as it may, I will deduct two points from emeach /emof your houses," Snape says and then sidesteps Cas, who begins to grin because he just beat Snape at his own game, and walks away from the scene, his cloak billowing behind him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "I've just lost our house three points," Ace says looking to Cass, her brow furrowed and her lips curved slightly down, she was embarrassed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "It's alright," He says and gets closer to the two, and he places a hand on the side of Ace's face, a gesture of comfort. "You lost the house point, but he knows what Merula did to you, and he's punishing her for the first point." He says and then takes his hand away and turns his body sideways, and ushers them down the hallway. "Now, before anyone else suspects us of being up to no good," And he holds out his hand to make sure they were heading in the right direction. They hurry out of the corridor and up to the main level where the great hall was, where lunch was being held./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Thank you, Cas." Ace says, and he nods./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" "Anything for you, now go, I'll go join the Slytherins, stick to friends, they're more useful; than you know." He winks and heads off to his friend group at the Slytherin table./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"strong /strong/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /p  
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"strong /strong/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"strongFebruary 20th, 1969/strong/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" emThe dreariest day of the year so far had been today, it had been overcast all day, but just recently did it start to pour, and there was no promise or even a glimmer of a hope that it would let up. In fact, it seemed only to get worse./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /ememA woman stood on the edge of a street, a telephone box next to her, she had just gotten out of it, and with a wary eye, she looked around, checking to see if any muggles had noticed./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /emem"Scarlette, is that you?" A man's voice comes from the shadows, and she lifts the umbrella overhead as she squints her eyes, trying to see in the darkness and haze of the rain./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /ememA man walked out of the shadows, and she instantly recognised him./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /ememHow long has it been since she saw him, ten years? The last they saw each other was when he was an assistant to some shop in Diagon Alley./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /emem"Tom?" The woman says glad it was him and not someone else who had meant harm, Merlin knew that it was a trying time, especially with Voldemort infiltrating everything, including the ministry of magic./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /ememShe was more than glad he wasn't a death eater./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /emem"It's been a while." He grins and winks at her. /em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /emem"Yes," She says breathlessly. "It really has./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em /emem"Do you want to get a drink?"/em/p 


	4. Chapter 4

_**August 10th, 1980**_

"Have you heard the rumours Severus?" Severus stood with Dumbledore in the astronomy tower.

"What rumours?" He says through the rest of his tears.

"Apparently, Voldemort has an offspring," Dumbledore says, turning back towards the window of the astronomy towers.

"And?" Severus hisses.

"Did you hear anything about this as your time as a death eater Severus?" Dumbledore leans against the window. If Voldemort had a child this could be catastrophic, she would be so powerful she would more than likely never need a wand or even a broomstick, her abilities would be unlimited and who knows just what she would really be able to accomplish.

"No, but I can ask."

"There is no need, you were his right hand, if anyone knew, it would you." Severus nods. "You will start teaching next year, in the meantime, hunt down any of the rumours of this alleged child, figure out who the mother is, get me as many details as possible." Severus nods, he had calmed down now, his tears stained on his face.

"And what would you have me do to the child when I find them?"

"Tracer charm Severus, we must monitor her and keep the ministry informed." Severus nods his head and begins to walk away. "I would start with Scarlette Anderson, she was rumoured to be in love with the dark lord himself, but you should know all about that." Severus could tell Dumbledore still didn't trust him fully, and perhaps he never would. Severus didn't care, what mattered is that he took this position as potions master and began to earn everyone else's trust; he was a double agent now.

He couldn't love anyone; he wasn't allowed to, not without the risk of them finding out what he is actually doing. So, it seemed that he would be forever alone, forever hated.

He had a big heart. Indeed he did, but he wouldn't be allowed to show it, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone exactly how he felt.  
If there happened to be some woman that he fancied, it was a trivial matter, Dumbledore, and his bidding and rules always came first.  
He would never be able to tell Harry about his mother, about the woman who kept him alive, who kept him going, when he no longer could, when all seemed lost.

Even now, in her death, the reason for helping Dumbledore was her. He wanted revenge for Lilly. He wanted justice.  
No. He needed justice, and come hell or high water he was going to get it.

Voldemort will fall.

And he will pay.

* * *

_**September 10th, 1986**_

"What do you mean you have detention today?" Cas asks Ace, who was sitting in the common room before breakfast.

She had gotten up earlier than anticipated and had seen Cas sitting by the fireplace reading one of his books.

"Well, Snape had decided it wasn't fair to me to have detention on the first day of school, so he moved to this week and then he finally, in all his brooding-ness told me I would serve it today." Cas chuckles at her choice of words.

"Brooding-ness?" He grins, showing his too perfect teeth.

"You never told me your parentage."

"What's the difference? I'm still the same person." He raised a brown eyebrow at her, seeing if she would press further.

"You know mine." She says and gives him a half smile.

"Or lack thereof." He mumbles.

"Please, you're the best friend I have, would it hurt to tell me about yourself?"

"Half-blood." He whispers.

"You're embarrassed for being a half-blood?" She snorts and puts an arm on his shoulder as he nods yes. "Cas, you're the most talented wizard I know, you have nothing to be ashamed of." She says gently, trying to comfort him, knowing full well that most Slytherins were pure-bloods.

"I'm the only wizard you know." She narrows her eyes and turns the corner of her lips flat.

"Be that as it may, you're still the greatest wizard I know, and you're like a brother to me." He rolls his eyes.

"You're just saying that to get in my pants." He grins and winks at her.

"It's eight, should we go?" Cas nods his head and stands up, throwing his cloak over him, just as Ace was doing, and she grabs her bag before they walk out the door.

She hadn't spoken to Bill in a week, it seemed he was actively avoiding her, she never saw him at breakfast, they never saw each other in the hallways, and the only time he paid attention to her or even acknowledged her was in her transfigurations class when McGonagall had told him to help the students.

"How are you and that idiot boy who just went cold as a dementor on you?" Ace looks to the floor and rubs her shoulder with her left hand.  
How was she to know how they were? He never said anything past the day Merula changed her hair colour, he just dropped her.

"How would I know, I'm dead to him." She spits, and Cas can hear the resentment and bitterness in her voice, and he knows just how much this is hurting her.

"Ace, what did I tell you at the beginning of the year?" She snaps her head up to look at him.

"I don't know what did you tell me?" She snaps, and Cas takes a small step to the side, he was not expecting this bitterness from her.

"I told you to give them time, they'll come around and see just how great you are." She gives him an apologetic look and nods in agreement,

"I know, but it hurts, and if I am honest, I see everyone's hatred with the Gryffindors, the nerve of him."

"Weren't you the one who asked McGonagall to be switched into Gryffindor?"

"Yeah, well that's before they became a group of headstrong idiots." Cas lets out a quick laugh and shakes his head.

"So quick to turn the tides, ay Ace?" She chuckles and nods.

"Yeah well-" She never finishes her sentence as a blood-curdling scream is let out, and she and Cas look to each other with uncertainty written on their faces.

They rush forward to the scream and see a girl huddled up on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably and murmuring to herself.

She was in Ravenclaw; her underrobes were blue, and so was her tie, her house crest was hidden by her arms.  
Cas instantly rushed forward to her, kneeling in front and trying to console her, to figure out her name.

"It's okay, whatever it is it's passed, it's just you and me, and Ace." He says and extends an arm out that he hesitantly lays on her shoulder, and she screams again., terrified still of whatever it was. "Ace, go get the Professor's and Headmaster!" He barks at her, but she was frozen to the spot, still trying to process everything.

Who would attack a student like this, leave them no more than a heap on the ground crying and sobbing and muttering intangible things?  
Who was clever enough to attack a student on the grounds at Hogwarts, supposedly one of the safest places in the world.  
"Ace, go!" He snaps again, shaking her out of her thoughts, and she looks to him, eyes filled with fear. "Now! He bellows, and she runs off down the corridor and several more before reaching the great hall where Dumbledore and Minerva sat, no other professors, just the two of them.  
She runs up to the steps and Dumbledore, sensing her panic had met her there.

"Headmaster," She says out of breath. "A student was frightened to death, in the halls near the Transfiguration classroom." Dumbledore grabs her shoulder, strong but firm.

"Is there anyone with them?" Ace nods hurridly and takes in a giant breath of air.

"Caspian Villin, sir." He looks to McGonagall who had worry in her eyes, and the two rushed out of the great hall with Ace and the rest of the students not far behind.

They had seen the commotion, had heard everything go down, and they wanted to see, wanted to know what was going on.  
Dumbledore reached the young woman first, and knelt in front of her, moving Cass out of the way so that McGonagall could see the student too.

"Ms Skotadi, go get Professor Snape, ask him for a calming, be quick about it." She didn't verbally acknowledge the Professor, just nodded her head and ran back to the dungeons.

She ran the fastest she had run in her life; she had never had someone's life in danger before, there had never been an opportunity for it. The only life in danger was hers when her parents would stumble home drunk, and they would raise a hand to her for not doing her chores entirely or in a timely manner.

She took the left further most staircase and came upon Snape's office, had anyone been here before, had anyone bragged in like she was about to, would she get detention again, would she loose house points? Would he yell at her and call her a dunderhead.

She didn't think these thoughts through as she flung open the door and stopped in the doorway, and she saw a shocked Snape looking up at her.  
"Professor McGonagall, calming draught, student in danger." Was all she could get out through her pants of breathing.

Somehow the potions professor seemed to know exactly what she meant, as he sprung into action before her very eyes, and was quite literally out the door before her next blink. She hadn't even seen him grab the potion, but she guessed he had with his cat-like reflexes.

She hated the running back and forth, and she wasn't ready for it again, but she couldn't just walk back, she'd seem lazy.

"Please god, no more running after this." She groans out and runs back to the incident.

Caspian was standing amongst the first row of the crowd, and she pushed and shoved her way to him, he wrapped his arms around her shoulder, careful to avoid her chest, but keeping her from approaching the professors.

"They've got this under control, Ace. She's just been properly scared, but she'll be okay." He whispers in her ear.

"Who would do this?" She asks, and her question is left empty, no one dared answered it.

There were many who thought of one single person, one person smart enough, cruel enough to do this, but no one dare say it. Say it, and you're dead.

"Students, please return to your dormitories, the student is well taken care of, there is nothing else to see." She then turns to Cas and Ace, a very stern and pointed look on her face. Disappointment, but for what? "As for you two, my office after classes are over, are we understood?"  
"Professor, I have detention after classes." Ace squeaks out, and backs up into Cas even more, terrified of McGonagall.

McGonagall may not have been her head of house, but the word was that McGonagall was properly terrifying when she was angry, some said even more so than Snape. She knew McGonagall had to be at least irritated by this whole event, so she made sure to put as much space between the transfiguration teacher and herself.

"May I ask, with whom?" She raises her eyebrows.

"Professor Snape."

"I'm sure he won't mind if you're a few minutes late, Ms Skotadi, after all, I'm sure he'll be joining us in my office, along with the headmaster." She says, giving Ace a semi-threatening tone, one more meant for a warning, but terrifying nonetheless coming from McGonagall.

"Yes, Professor." She says solemnly and hangs her head, and Cas just squeezes her tighter, trying to comfort her.

"Now, get along, go eat breakfast. They stand there frozen, as the rest of the crowd had begun to work their way to their respective house dormitories, Ace and Cas had forgotten that they hadn't eaten, and the fact the Minerva knew surprised them yet. "Before," She raises her eyebrows at the pair and flattens her lips. "I change my mind." The nod and back out of the way and head for the great hall, heading for food to fill their now rumbling stomachs.

The high had finally subsided, and they realised just how hungry they were, starving.

"Do you think we're in trouble?" Ace asks Cas.

"Well, McGonagall doesn't flaunt it as much as Snape does, but she hates Slytherins more than Snape hates Gryffindors. Any chance she can get to punish a Slytherin, she'll do so. I've seen countless numbers of different houses get detention because a Slytherin walked onto what they were doing, only to report to McGonagall. Needless to say, the Slytherin trying to keep the other students in line would also get detention or at loose house points." She hadn't realised McGonagall was so prejudiced, she had seemed such a sweet, but stern, lady. She seemed to want justice and fairness for all, especially upon her first meeting. So far, Cas hadn't been wrong, and she had to trust him.

"She seemed so nice when I first met her like she was a person who was just and fair."

"Yeah," Cas says, quickly raising his eyebrows. "She wants you to think that." They round the corner and head into the great hall, taking the closest seats near the door at the Slytherin table.

There was still plenty of food items out for them to eat, yoghurt, oatmeal, cereal, pastries and puddings, all food that would get wasted because the house elves made too much.

"Come on Ace, eat up; you're going to need your strength," Cas says, piling amounts of breakfast sweets onto his plate, and Ace grabs the oatmeal and some fruit. "Has Merula bothered you since your hair?" Ace had just taken a mouthful of cereal and only nodded a no at his question. "Good." She nods her head in agreement, swallowing her food.

She remembered Bill saying something of a shapeshifter, how anyone could be one, and Bill said he would tell her more, but he never did.  
"Bill and I were talking about transfiguration class, and he mentioned something about an animagus."

"What you wanna know?" He says, taking a bite into a pastry.

"What are they?"

"Shapeshifters, essentially, though you can't choose the animal you change into, in muggle lore they were considered skinwalkers." She had heard of skinwalkers but didn't think they were real, much less wizards that could shapeshift.

"How come not many people are shapeshifters?" Cas laughs through his mouth of food.

"The spell is quite complex, it's something of a tongue twister, you have to be very precise with the spell, not doing it exactly as it says could turn you into half human half animal forever, and the ingredients may seem simple, it's actually hard to find." A pause and he looks over to her.

"You're not interested in becoming one, are you? That spell is too complex for you, especially since you're a first year."

"You don't know what I'm capable of, even I don't know, but I'd like to try."

"Why? Trying to evade the law?" She rolls her eyes at him.

"No, it would help with Merula, prove to her I'm a better witch." Cas sets the rest of his pastry onto his plate and rests his hands on the table.

"If you do that she may make it worse for you."

"Okay fine you're right, I just want to shapeshift, it sounds wicked!" She grins.

"I can get you the materials, but I'll have to get the spell book from McGonagall, in the meantime, during herbology, ask Professor Sprout for a mandrake leaf." She nods in agreement as the bells of Hogwarts chime signalling time for class.

The food and plates and everything else that was left on the tables disappear, back to the kitchens where the house elves were.

She gets up, and Cas follows suit, as they leave heading for their classes.

"If you don't get the mandrake leaf today, just be sure to get it by next Friday."

"What's next Friday?" He looks to her, his face void of any emotion.

"The full moon." She stops dead in her tracks and watches as Cas keeps on walking to his class like everything he had said made sense. She would have to save her questions for break; she didn't have time to pester him with issues now, seeing as how she was going to be late if she didn't get a move on.

She makes it to transfigurations and slides into her seat as the bell rings, and McGonagall enters from the back of the room.  
"Open your books to chapter two, we're going to cover more of the rules, and your homework will be to read the various branches of transfiguration." She gets to her desk and turns around sharply, some kids next to her jump, and as she searches the faces in the room, she can't find Bill.

He was nowhere to be seen, and McGonagall didn't seem to be worried that he wasn't here, meaning he was excused for the period or she knew of his whereabouts.

Was he in trouble, did he get caught for something he shouldn't have done? Did he bring in muggle artefacts? Or was it possible he was the culprit behind the petrified student, and she hated to think he was that twisted or cruel, because honestly, he was sweet and warm, and genuinely seemed to care. Or rather, he was all that when he was around; he would make the perfect culprit, no one would suspect him.  
Perhaps that's why he disappeared.

"Hey." Someone sitting next to her nudged her, and she looked over to the person, a young girl, younger than what she seemed to be, had brown eyes and brown hair, and with her head motioned towards McGonagall.

"Ms Skotadi, welcome back to Hogwarts." She says, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Five points from Slytherin." She then turns back to talk to the class, and her fellow Slytherin moans in annoyance.

"Nice going, you git." She hears someone hiss behind her, and she realises just how mucked up everything is.

McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape, all arrived at the scene of the crime, and who were the only people in hallways during breakfast? Her and Cas.

The teachers must suspect them; they must be furious that they were the only two walking the castles corridors. Snape probably can't wait to punish her for once again lurking about.

It hadn't even been a month, and she was already in trouble twice.

She had begun to worry if her parents had received an owl or a letter from the school stating her detention. If she had gotten anything of the sort, or even a single lousy remark from any of her teachers, her parents would have had her head.

She had learnt to stay quiet and work hard, and lucky for her school always came easy; nothing challenged her enough. She still had the highest marks because it came so easy, people had often told her her brain was developing at a faster rate than most peoples and some of her teachers in the muggle world that she go straight to secondary, primary couldn't teach her anything more.

Once she had gotten the swing of things here at Hogwarts, the same thing had happened, of course, her hardest class was transfigurations, for the sole reason the McGonagall wanted her to practically memorise the whole book, the one thing she failed at. Memorisation.

She had found herself beginning to read a spellbook from the library and had started to practise different spells, trying to occupy her times, to keep her busy. If she didn't stay busy, her grades would slip purely out of boredom.

Transfigurations and charms had passed meticulously slow; she felt that she could feel every second tick by her slowly as if time slowed around her, and she was faster.

The bells finally rang, signalling break, and she was the first out of the charms classroom, but she had begun to become overly cautious of who turned corners, her hand always hidden in her robes, ready to pull it out should Merula slam into her again.

Sometimes, if she moved, she would still feel a sharp splitting pain in her back from the incident.

She could hear footsteps coming closer to the corner she was about to turn, and Ace quickly pressed her back against the wall, and her heart started to beat rapidly, nervous for something bad to happen.

She took her wand out, ready should Merula come around the corner.

Instead, it was her bunkmate, Elara.

"Merlin, Ace, you're acting like you're paranoid." Ace takes a deep breath, glad it wasn't Merula, and trying to settle her heart down.

"I am. Merula is out to get me."

"Is that why you leave class so fast?" Ace snorts and shakes her head, her grey curls waving slightly with the movement.

"No, I'm quite bored, everything comes easy to me."

"Would you be willing to help me then, I'm lost in transfigurations…" Ace groans and rolls her eyes. "What, what was that for."

"I despise transfigurations simply for the fact that she wants to memorise the book!" Ace can feel her face heat up, annoyance radiating off of her. Memorising a book was ridiculous and a complete waste of time, and she would just forget by the beginning of next year.

"Wow," Elara says, her eyebrows raised and eyes wide.

"What?"

"The calmest, collected, quiet, and level headed person I know is absolutely insane over one class, glad to know I'm not the only one." Ace flattens her lips.

"Look, I'm sorry I lost control of my emotions. I can teach you the material, but you'll have to memorise the book by yourself." Elara nods and holds out her hand.

"It's a deal." Ace takes it, and they shake on it. "You want to walk to the commons with me; I need to stop by and grab my books." Ace holds up a hand and shakes her head.

"I don't go there unless I need to, I've started carrying all my books on me, especially since my last run in with Merula, I was just going to head straight down to the potions classroom."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you there," Elara says, a bit disappointed that Ace had refused to go with her to the common rooms every time she offered, and then Ace did something she didn't expect. She winced in pain. "You okay?" Ace nods a simple yes, but she was biting her bottom lip, and there were tears in her eyes, a very clear sign she was not okay.

"Yeah," She squeaks. "Just my back." Elara had already made her way to Ace's back before she could protest, and pushed her cape aside to pull up her shirt.

"No, you're not, I'm taking a look."

"Honestly, I'm fine; it's nothing major, just fell." Elara had already pulled up her shirt and was taking a look. The lower section of her back was black and blue, completely bruised.

"Ace you need to see Madame Pomfrey, this looks bad." She shakes her head no.

"No, I've got potions, I can't miss it, Snape will deduct us even more points, I have to go, I can go during lunch."

"Are you daft? The teachers eat lunch with us too, including Pomfrey."

"Then I'll go after detention tonight." Elara put her shirt down, and grabbed Ace's wrist, dragging her to the hospital wing.

"No, you're going now, I'll explain to the Professor what happened, but you need to get yourself taken care of." Ace was fighting, but Elara had a very tight grip, and she wasn't able to break it.

"Please let me go to potions; I can miss the class after. I can't let them deduct any more house points."

"Stop worrying about points, and worry about your safety." She snaps. She was frustrated with Ace, how could she not have known what had happened to her back, how could she not have seen the bruising or even acknowledged the pain. How could she be so much more concerned with house points. Her safety and health came first; you looked after yourself first. That was a trait of Slytherin, self saving.

No one would be hiding this much pain if it weren't for the fact that it wasn't a simple tumble. Someone had obviously done this to her.

It was probably the same person that had changed her hair ginger too.

"Madame Pomfrey!" Elara called, and the matron came running over to the two of them.

"Come sit," She says, and from a pointed look from Elara towards ace, she guides Ace to a bed. "What happened?"

"Merula did something to her, caused bruising on her-"

"No." Ace cuts in. "I slipped a week ago and fell, my back has been hurting ever since." Ace gives her a pointed look, and Elara just stares back. Madame Pomfrey instantly knew Ace was covering for Merula, not wanting her to get into any more trouble, she would inform Snape and the headmaster that she thought Ace was lying later when she was with them at lunch, in the meantime she had to get her healed.

"Okay, then. Ms Knight, you're free to go, I'll tend to Ms Skotadi and send her back when she's healed." Elara nods and walks out of the room, out of earshot and Pomfrey turns to her, a stern look on her face. "Now, tell me what happened."

"I already told you that I-"

"Fell?" She raises an eyebrow at ace and cocks her head. "Has anyone ever told you that for a Slytherin, you're a very terrible liar?" Ace raises an eyebrow, and the side of her mouth tilts up.

"No, actually, that would be the first."

"Remove your cloak, and lift up the back of your shirt please." She does as instructed, and Pomfrey places a cold hand on her back and gently presses, and Ace almost screams in pain. "Looks as though you have a broken bone, Ms Skotadi." She says and instructs Ace to put her shirt down. "It's a good thing Ms Knight brought you in, and later and you could have been paralysed."

"What?"

"You've got a broken spine, Ms Skotadi; I can only give you so many potions before they stop working, so with the medicine I give you, you must adhere to my rules of bedrest.

"But my classes, and I've got detention tonight, you can't do this Madame Pomfrey, I can't just lay in bed all day, I'll-"

"I will be talking with the headmaster, your head of house and all of your teachers, so there is no need to worry."

"Madame Pomfrey, I'm a muggle-born, I have to keep up with my studies, and I can't skip on Professor' Snape's class.!" She protests in a moan, flinging her arms up in the air.

"Ms Skotadi if you would just settle down-"

"I'm already going to miss his class, I can't miss anyone else today, or I'll miss the homework and fail it." She takes a deep breath and turns her head towards Madame Pomfrey who was pouring a liquid in glass for her, it looked blue, meaning it was probably a calming draught or a sleeping-draught mixed with water. "Please allow me to attend my classes; I can't miss a day."

"Ms Skotadi, I will talk with your teachers and see if there isn't something we can do to have your classes mediated for your, but you'll need to drink the potions I give you and be on bed rest for a weak." She hands her the cup, and without verbally telling her to do so, Ace drinks the concoction.

The minute the cold liquid passed through her throat, she felt calm, like she suddenly realised just how idiotic she sounded. She had actually said that she had detention to get to, as an excuse for being in bed rest, and her classes were another. Merlin, how stupid she was, anyone in the school would rather be on bed rest than in detention or going to class.

"Better?" Ace nods and sighs, her nerves had calmed, logic was now clear. "The safety and well being of a student comes first, and it is my job to make sure you are up and well."

"Could I use a wheelchair, instead o being on bed rest?" Pomfrey sighs, admiring her determination to go back to classes and not miss a single one.

"Let's get you through this first round of medicine, and we can go from there." Ace nods in agreement and lays down on the bed, waiting for Madame Pomfrey to instruct her further.

Snape slammed open the door and hastily made his way to the front of the classroom, stopping only to grab chalk from his desk and then turn to his blackboard to write the ingredients for a potion.

"Can anyone tell me what potion we're going to be making today?" His voice flat and monotone.

He surveys the crowd of students, and they all avoid his look, not one of them meeting his gaze. Usually one of his own students would raise her hand, but she wasn't here, her seat was missing. How could he have missed that, the girl who looked like Lily with her charmed ginger hair the first day, was missing. He had taken to picking on her more than his other students; and why? Because Merula Snyde had changed her hair colour to ginger, and he had accused her of doing it herself when she had no idea what the charm was in the first place. She had the best marks he's ever seen since he started teaching.

How could he deny that she even rivalled his marks from when he went to school.

Muggle-born and quite brilliant, just like Lily.

"No one?" He had said, and even though he said it in a monotone voice, everyone knew it was sarcasm, everyone knew better than to respond to his rhetorical questions. "Pitty." He quickly turns away from the eyes of the students in his classroom and goes to sit in his chair behind his desk, his workload for grading had begun to stack up, and he dreaded having to go through the first years and read their atrocities. "You'll be learning the herbicide potion today, pair up." He says, sitting down in the chair. "And Ms Knight, I would like a word." Elara looks up, horrified that Snape had requested to speak with her, perhaps it was about Ace, maybe that's all it was.

She left her belongings at the desk and scooted her chair back; it echoed loudly in the room of quiet students who were just beginning to brew potions.

Snape glared at her, and it was an unwavering glare, he could tell she was more than nervous, she was a quiet student, and she partnered with her bink mate all the time. She had to know where Ms Skotadi was.

"Tell me, Ms Knight, are you in house Slytherin?" Elara shakes her head.

"Yes, Professor?" She asks, feeling as though the question were some kind of verbal trap.

"It was a question, give me an answer." He growls, and the young girl pales.

"Yes, Professor, I'm in Slytherin."

"And Ms Skotadi is, your, bunk mate correct?" She nods. "Then perhaps, you, can tell me why she isn't in class?" He raised his voice slightly, establishing his dominance bringing attention to her.

"She's with Madame Pomfrey; her back is all bruised, sir."

"How?" He drawls out.

"She claims she fell, Professor." Snape didn't need to look into her mind to understand what she meant; it was simple. She claimed she fell, meaning that someone had done this and that someone was most likely Merula.

Merula may have had all the traits of a Slytherin, except for one. Fraternity. The most important one, look out for yourself first, but if your brother or sister was in trouble, you looked out for them too

"Go, sit, down." He practically whispers, and she nods and turns around going to take a seat.

Merula would get questioned later, but he wouldn't use words he would invade her memories and see just exactly what she had done. She needed to be expelled, but the headmaster had frowned upon his recommendation, perhaps this time he wouldn't, not for what she's done now.  
He may have hated Gryffindors, but he hated this Slytherin even more.

Classes passed and Ace had fallen asleep while Madame Pomfrey had begun to administer potions and rubs to her, and soon it was lunch.  
Madame Pomfrey made her way to the staff table, and she had pulled McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Snape aside.

"Madame Pomfrey, to what do we owe this pleasure?" DuDumbledore says a faint smile graves his lips.

"That Merula has sent too many students to my infirmary, headmaster. Something must be done." She says in a hushed voice.

"What happened?" McGonagall asks.

"One of your Slytherins was admitted to me today, had she not come any sooner it's quite possible she would have ended paralysed," Pomfrey said directing it at Snape.

"Is this in reference to Ms Skotadi?" Snape asks his voice smooth and his face unchanging.

"Yes. She claims she fell, but the other Slytherin who brought her in had said something about Merula, and I suspect it was her that had to do with Ms Skotadi's back." The headmaster sighs and shakes his head.

"Severus and I will speak to her tonight, and I will personally be writing home to her legal guardians." Snape sneers at the headmaster.  
"You should be expelling her headmaster, not writing to her parents." Dumbledore holds up a hand to keep him from saying anything further.  
"All in due time, Severus, all in due time."

"What about Ms Skotadi?" McGonagall asks as her fears that she would end up needing a wheelchair for the rest of her life began scaring her.  
"She'll need at least a week of bed rest." Pomfrey sighs and shakes her head. "Professor Snape, you've got a very dedicated student on your hands, she refused the weeks rest, saying she had more important things like classes, and detention."

"Obviously." He says, drawing out every syllable.

Someone comes stomping in through the entrance of the great hall, fast-paced and looking ready for a fight. Little whispers that sound like sizzling water starts around the room and the tables.

He was wearing red, a Gryffindor, and his hair ginger.

"Oi!" The boy says, and the Gryffindor table sees it's Bill, the new perfect, making his way down the middle of the rows and over to Slytherin table.

All eyes, including the professor's and headmaster's, go on him. He had the room.

"Cabbage head!" He yells again, trying to grab the attention of a particular Slytherin.

Cas stands up, ready to protect his house and his family, prepared for whatever the young Gryffindor would do. His hand resting on the inside of his cloak, ready to grab his wand, should he need it.

"Weasley, go back to your table," Cas warns, knowing that Ace wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want a fight over her; it wasn't the way to settle things.

"No, not until Snyde is punished." Cas quickly moves in front of him, keeping him from reaching her.

"Back off, Bill. Ace wouldn't want this." Cas says trying to get him to back off, to cool down and think about what he was about to do. But a Gryffindor is a Gryffindor for a reason, head-strong and won't back down from what they believe in.

"What would you know what she wants?" He spits at Cas, his eyes finally off of Merula and onto Cas, and Cas's eyes darken. They get so dark they turn almost black, like little beetles resting in his eyes.

"Because I've proven to be her only friend so far, whereas you have gone and were muckin' bout with your trouble group, leaving her with no friend 'side from me." He spits venom at the ginger fifth year. "Now," He seethes ready to spit that venom in his face. "Back, off."

"No."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Did I stutter or are you off you're head?" He takes a step forward, and their chests are touching, each one puffing themselves up, though Cas did not need to, it was a battle of brains, not brawns, not yet at least. "I said, no." He pulls out his wand and holds up to Cas's jugular. "Now, step aside."

"I may not like Merula, but she's in my house, and if you think I'm just going to step aside peacefully, you're wrong, you'll have to go through me."

"Easy enough," Bill says, and takes a few steps back, making enough room for his outstretched arm to leave a few feet between him and Cas.

"Flipendo!" Cas is thrown back, sliding across the table of food and landing against the wall.

"Enough!" Bellows the headmaster, and Snape is already on his way down to grab Bill, and Madame Pomfrey is behind him to make sure Cas is alright.

"My office," Snape snarls at the Weasley. "Now." He grabs Bill by the ear and pulls him out of the great hall. Meanwhile, Madame Pomfrey is checking Cas. He protests over her nitpickiness and tells her he's fine, but she won't leave him alone.

"Should I just go to the wing with you, I've been meaning to check on Ace." She nods, and helps him to his feet, helping brush off the lunch that had stuck to him.

Snape had let go of the Weasley's ear about halfway to his office, and Bill swears he had almost pulled it off.

He stood in front of Snape's desk, and Snape stood, pacing behind it. He was furious; he was livid, this Gryffindor would be wishing he was dead by the time he was done with him, or at the least begging for mercy.

"Dueling is expressly forbidden unless authorised by the headmaster, and with either myself or Professor Flitwick to supervise!" He yells. "And seeing as how neither of those are in effect here, I should have you expelled. It would look brilliant in your family history." He takes his hand and rubs his chin, obviously in deep thought

"Actually Professor, you were there, you and the headmaster watched." Snape deepened his scowl, his eyes go black, and he approaches the young Gryffindor.

"I don't," He begins in a menacing, even tone. "Take lip, from anyone. Especially students." He places his hand on the desk and leans forward, encroaching into the young Gryffindors space even more. "Especially from a Gryffindors like yourself." Bill scowls, his hatred for the potions master only growing more, how could the Slytherins like him? His greasy hair, his crooked nose, and his sneer were an immediate turn away from liking him, his personality only added to it. "Were it not for the headmaster you would be expelled, but since he does not permit that luxury to me, I will have you learn your lesson some other way." He snarls and pushes himself off the desk to stand up straight. "Six weeks of detention, every day after school, my classroom. You will report to me and me alone, and I will personally see to your detention. Now, leave." Bill runs out of his office, out of the dungeons and up to the main floor and across the courtyard to the see Ace in the infirmary.

"What are you doing here?" Cas spits sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"I came to see her." He gestures with his head, and Cas continues to glare.

"I don't think that's best." He drawls out.

"What do you mean?" Cas rolls his eyes at the oblivious Gryffindor, how could he not understand?

"You abandoned her the third day of school, just stopped talking to her and being a friend to her. You hurt her. If I were you, I'd leave before she wakes up, before she can do something far worse to you, than what you did to me." Bill almost looked hurt by his words, by the fact that he unintentionally hurt someone he cared about. He liked Ace the moment they met in Diagon Alley; they hit it off quite well. Now, he had hurt someone close to him.

The bell for lunch rings and Cas collects his belongings before getting out of the chair.

"Will you at least tell her I want to talk to her when she wakes up?" Cas walks past him, and Bill follows him.

"When she wakes up, she'll be concerned with other things besides you, but I will tell her you stopped by." Cas speeds off, leaving Bill to himself in an empty corridor.

The rest of the day was uneventful, classes passed as they usually did, boringly slow.

But Cas, realising that Ace wouldn't be able to get the mandrake leaf from herbology, had snuck in and gotten her one. He was going to help her become an animagus, yes she was young, and yes she was a first year, but something told him if any first year could do it, it would be her.  
Cas found himself walking back to the common rooms when Dean stopped him.

"Caspian," Dean calls, and he turns around to see the Head Boy was following him.

"Dean." He acknowledges, but it wasn't a warm welcome, he and Dean had been competing for head boy last year, and Dean had gotten it through an unfair advantage.

"Headmaster, along with your head of house, and Professor McGonagall are in the infirmary with Morana, your presence is requested."  
"She hates being called by her first name, call her that to her face, and she may just hex you." Cas bites as he walks away heading to the infirmary.

He arrived only to see the professors standing around her bed and Dumbledore talking with her.

"Ah, Mr Villin," Dumbledore says, acknowledging his presence. "Thank you for joining us." He nods and takes his seat next to Ace, who looks over to him and smiles. "Ms Skotadi, how is your back?"

"Fine, Headmaster, thank you for asking."

"Of course." He takes a look at the two members of his staff that stood next to him, impatient and waiting to get down to business. They didn't want to worry themselves with the silly notions of students. "We are all wondering if I may inquire, what exactly happened in the hall this morning." Ace looks to Cas, neither of them knowing how to answer, as they hadn't seen what had happened, they just saw her on the floor after she screamed. They didn't even know if it was the student that screamed.

"Honestly, Headmaster, we arrived after whatever happened, happened," Ace says, meeting the Headmasters blue eyes.

"We heard a scream, and rushed over to her, next thing we see, she was lying on the ground, and I sent Ace to get you, headmaster."

"I see." He says, and as headmaster of the school, he already knew what had happened, but he wanted to see if they did. "Very well, we shall take our leave then," Dumbledore says, and McGonagall is right behind him, but Snape, stood there. He was hesitating.

"Severus?" Dumbledore calls to him in a whisper.

"In a moment." He draws out, even and unwavering. He turns to Cas, his dark beetle-like eyes burning into Cas' soul. "Take a walk, Mr Villin." Snape barks at him, and Cas is out of his seat and leaving with the Headmaster and McGonagall. "I will ask you this once, and only once, Ms Skotadi, so answer correctly; and do tell the truth, I will know if you're lying."

"Yes, Professor." Ace says and hangs her head in shame.

"Did you fall, or did Ms Snyde have something to do with your back?" She snaps her head up, and her eyes meet his, and instantly, she scowls at him.

"I fell, Professor." She got short with him, almost sassed him, and Snape's expression deepened, turning into a frown. He hated the students, absolutely despised them, but he hated the lip they gave him even more.

"Don't lie to me, Skotadi. I am a legilimens, and in case your muggle family hadn't informed you, which I'm sure they didn't; Legilimens are mind readers-"

"Fine then, read my mind." She snaps.

"I beg your pardon?"

"If you are so keen on finding out what really happened, then, by all means, read my mind, indulge in my memories, Professor. I've got nothing to hide." He just stares her, neither blinking or daring to move their gaze away from each other. Seconds go by, a silence so thick with tension, if you touched the room with a feather, it would explode.

And then, she sees something register in those black beady eyes of his. A longing, love perhaps; as fast as it had come, it was gone, and he was standing over her, standing at the edge of her bed and his shadow casting down onto her.

"I don't take lip, Skotadi. Especially from an eleven-year-old girl like yourself." He hisses.

"I'm thirteen." She spits back out at him.

"Regardless, I will find out the truth, and when I do, if it comes to light you are lying to me, not even the Headmaster will be able to save you."  
"Even if Merula had done it, I wouldn't tell you." More venom coming out of her mouth.

"Why, the school bully, someone who almost paralysed you, and you won't report them, what kind of Slytherin does that make you?"  
"A Slytherin who doesn't out someone in her house. I may not like her, but I refuse to help you in your aide of getting her expelled. Also, the next time you address me, be sure to put the proper title in front of my name. Ms, I think, will do just fine." Snape's scowl deepened, and then with a flourish of his cape, he had left the room, leaving Ace to herself, to deal with the aftermath of what she had just done to one of the most feared Professors.

"Ace, what did you do?" Cas asks, standing in the doorway; he had heard the last part of the conversation and seen Snape's disconcerting look.  
She was in for a treat after she got back on her feet. She could only imagine what Snape would do, he was Head of House, and she was in his house.

Her life was about to become a living hell.


End file.
